Buy Grandma's Letters from Africa

Grandma's Letters from Africa received Editor's Choice, Rising Star, and Reader's Choice awards from the publisher. The book has also been listed on the Barnes and Noble Special Collections Boutique. Grandma's Letters from Africa is for sale online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iUniverse, and through your favorite independent book seller. Available as a hardback, paperback, and ebook.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GRANDMA'S LETTERS FROM AFRICA

Grandma’s Letters from Africa is an engaging, memorable account of Linda’s years in Africa. It was a privilege for me to read over the shoulders of her granddaughters as Linda tells her story through a series of letters. Through both laughter and tears, she learns to balance her roles as missionary, wife, mother, and grandmother. In the process, Linda falls in love with Africa, its people, and her work. Readers will be moved by this compelling story that reveals God’s heart and extraordinary grace. (Bob Creson, President/CEO, Wycliffe USA)

No matter what age you are, Grandma’s Letters from Africa transports you to that intriguing continent and gives you a glimpse of everyday life there. Make sure you have a box of tissues nearby because sometimes you’ll cry and other times you’ll laugh until tears roll down your cheeks. One caveat: Don’t start reading this book late in the evening unless you want to stay up all night. It’s a “can't-put-down” book. (Aretta Loving, Author, Together We Can! and Slices of Life)

Grandparents and soon-to-be-grandparents, read this book and give a copy to all your grandchildren old enough to read. In it, you will discover how to leave a life-impacting legacy for the children of your children. You will laugh and cry your way through Linda’s four incredible years in Africa … away from her children and grandchildren, but connecting with them in powerful ways as she skillfully weaves a tapestry of how her life made a difference. (Don Parrott, President, The Finishers Project)

Linda tells it like it is—she and her husband actually lived and experienced what she writes about. TIS recruits teachers for the mission field, including those over fifty, and Grandma’s Letters from Africa is a must-read for those potential teachers—even though many will never have the plethora of experiences Linda did. (Thom Votaw, Ed.D., President, Teachers In Service, Inc.)

Follow by Email

Followers

Grandma in Africa

Read Reviews

Grandma's Letters from Africa, by Linda K. Thomas

All I ever wanted was to live a quiet, secure life in a little white house with a picket fence and a rose garden, but my husband Dave—a free spirit who seldom limits himself to coloring within other people’s lines—and our adventuresome God had other plans. Just when our youngest finished college, both Dave and God hollered, “Africa!” You can read about my adventures in Grandma’s Letters from Africa, by Linda K. Thomas.

About Me

Thursday, December 12, 2013

You can’t make up stuff like this

What was that song? . . .One of life’s highlights was
listening to and watching Africans sing. Their rich harmonies, pulsating
rhythms, throbbing beats—they burst into my being and live there still.

Those folks know how to sing!
They have full, strong voices and sing out with resounding volume.

Africans feel their songs
from deep down in the core of their souls all the way to the tips of their
fingers and toes. They clap, they sway, they dance.

Melodies and ululations bounce
off the rafters and woo us and encircle us. Their music gets under our skin and
becomes part of who we are.

And so, because of my delight
in African songs, I thoroughly enjoyed Kenyans singing happy birthday at a local
restaurant. A group of faculty and staff from our West Nairobi School had gone
out to dinner to celebrate two teachers’ birthdays: Shelly’s and Dave’s.

When we finished our dinners,
at just the right moment a long line of Kenyans exited the kitchen, singing, in
Swahili, a pounding, blending, rhythmic tune.

The young lady at the head of
the line carried a birthday cake and paraded those employees throughout the
restaurant, in and out and around other customers. Singing at the top of their
lungs, some kept time on improvised instruments—percussion instruments made of
silverware and soda pop bottles—and others clapped.

Eventually the procession
headed our direction and encircled our table. Their smiles, their dancing,
their full, pulsing melodies—they held us spellbound. It was one of those Kodak
moments: We knew we’d remember that evening for a long time.

The restaurant staff
continued their joy-filled singing and, with a flourish, the waiter placed the
birthday cake before Shelly and Dave and lit the candles.

When the song ended, the
birthday duo blew out the candles—and then it happened.

One of our party, Sue, asked the
staff, “What was that song you were singing?”

It never occurred to me that
it was anything but a birthday song, but Sue was onto something.

The staff looked at each
other and whispered among themselves—and we waited.

They and wrung their hands looked
at the floor—and we waited.

They giggled nervously—and we
waited.

Eventually one of them spoke
in a low, rueful voice (and I’m not making this up), “It is a circumcision
song.”

And now, years later, I was
right: That was a birthday party—a birthday song—none of us will forget.

2 comments:

What a funny story. I'm sure you were all flabbergasted to learn what the song was about and it is true you will never forget it. The evening looks like lots of fun and I know just how uplifting the African singing can be. They always sing with such joy and gusto!

Penny, you are so faithful to encourage with your comments. Yes, "flabbergasted" describes our reaction! We all kind of gasped, stunned, and then slowly we started to laugh. Thanks for stopping by, Penny.Linda